can you keep a secret?
by LETSxBExMORExTHANxTHIS
Summary: a martailarts team the bladebreakers is devistaited when daichi is badly hurt in a match, Kai must find a replacement and fast before the next tourniment. just when he thinks he's found his star, will her past continue to lead her to selfdestruction?
1. Chapter 1

Much had changed for Kai since his last match.  
He not seen the rest of the team since he left the hospital, and had hardly been home at all since the tournament season began.  
He hadn't been training as hard and completely missed the last weeks practice program, but he couldn't see the point of training if his heart wasn't in it, that's just not the way he did things.  
He wasn't sleeping as he should and he just couldn't bring himself to eat ... he would always imagine Daichi being fed through the straw under the nurse's supervision.  
The thought made him stir suddenly and he broke from the daydream.  
He rested his chin on the railing of the marina and watched the lazy waves lapping aimlessly at the side of various boats.  
He was wearing an old blue t-shirt and baggy jeans with a tear in the knee, his dark hair stirred as he faced the sea's breeze.

He'd come here allot lately, he enjoyed the calm and the only sound was the chattering of seagulls and the occasional fog horn.  
But he was unlikely to hear any horns this morning as the sky couldn't have been clearer, it was approaching 5:30am and the sky was tainted with orange and pink, a slight sea breeze wiped his face and he straightened up stretching his arms like a cat.  
He took a few short steps back with his hands in his pockets and turned looking up and down the street the only person he found was a sleeping bum who he had noticed a few days ago and the jogging girl.  
He didn't know why he labeled her "the jogging girl" but it just seemed appropriate as it was all he ever saw her do.  
As she got closer she slowed down and stopped at a nearby bench.  
Panting she then tied her lasses and moved on.

She wore three quarter length shorts, black with a red line down one side and a black t-shirt with some sort of logo across her chest, as always she wore her hair in a tight bun and her face seemed firmly set in concentration.

What happened next was completely beyond Kai and the jogging girl but for what felt like the first time since Daichi's accident he spoke.  
He didn't know why, and he certainly didn't mean to do it, but it just happened.  
"you're lifting your knees too high, it's as if your just jogging on the spot" she stopped and they looked at each other, "okay, thanks I guess" she said reluctantly and was about to carry on jogging when she stopped short in front him and looked straight into his face.  
A little shocked at this, Kai took a step back and eyed her suspicion  
"your Kai Hiwatari right??" she demanded  
he looked into her eyes, they were icy blue and fixed on his face.  
"um, yeah ... why?"  
"I'm sorry about your friend Daichi",  
she wiped a drop of sweat from her hair line and said stiffly "but just because you're missing him doesn't mean you can go around telling others how not to make his mistakes"  
Kai was stunned, first she knew who he was and then she apologizes for what happened to his friend, and now she's telling him to get over it!!!  
"I don't know who the hell you think you are ..."  
"the names Red"  
"...well Red ... mind your own business"  
she just raised an eyebrow and carried on jogging.

He watched her go, and when she was far enough away not to hear he cursed her with all the names under the sun.

Who was she to figure out what he was doing before he knew?

"Lucky escape their ma' boy", Kai spun on the spot trying to find the person who had spoke. A moment ago he was sure he'd been alone.

Then it dawned on him, the bum he thought had been asleep was now sat up, with bleary eyes and with a gruff voice he said "she's not one to have someone else have the last word ya' know."

"What?"

"That Red she's quite a hot head you could say" the old man smiled to reveal a set of yellow teeth and a broken smile.

"You're lucky she didn't rip your head off for talking to her like that, I remember the time when she stopped by the fish mongers to catch her breath and have a drink from the water fountain, and Kyle ... you know Kyle I think?"  
Kai just stared in bewilderment the fact that this guy could form a whole sentence what a revelation to him.

"Well anyways Kyle's the kind of person that can't take public transport cuz his ego won't fit on the bus, and him and his friends had had an eye on red for a while now, you could tell cuz she always goes to drink from the fountain on Tuesdays and every Tuesday they'd be their watching."

The bum wiped its nose on its sleeve and scratched its un-shaven chin with stubble fingers before carrying on.

"well Kyle isn't one to go try something new on his own so he and his friends all made their way over to Red and she turned to face them asking what they wanted, well he couldn't have given her a straighter answer" the bum chuckled gazing up at Kai "he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her tight with hands all over her ..." he trailed off.

"What?" exclaimed Kai "they kissed?" this made his heart sinks, he didn't know why but he would have thought that she would have put up some sort of a fight. From what he'd already learned of Red she didn't sound like the type to be taken advantage of.

"No" the bum said simply

"She head butted him and threw him and three of his friends in the fountain"

Kai stood astounded.

"But she's smaller than me and ...and she's ..."

The bum stared up at him amused

"A girl??"

The bum had finished his sentence and tom dropped his shoulders in dismay, he knew that girls were often formidable opponents but he was so used to seeing them loose that the idea of Red beating four guys and having the strength to throw them into a water fountain was alien to him.

"It's not that girls can't fight" he said almost apologetically

"It's just ... they usually only do it as a last resort" he thought of all the girls he'd faced in the past, often muscular but clumsy or fast but weak.

"All girls fight to the death"

The bum's smile faded and he looked stern

"Apparently not all girls are red"


	2. Chapter 2

Red made her way down a quiet street lined with sleeping houses with neat front lawns, it was still early and the people inside would be waking up soon to a new day just like the one before, red found this idea boring and smirked at their persistent failures at everyday do they look forward too? She reached the end of the street and slipped under a wooden fence, some of the planks were missing and it smelled of rot, _"mind you"_ she thought _"I can't really say much, living the way I do." _

Brushing off cobwebs as she straightening up red found herself in front of an old industrial building, it looked to be a small hospital with a rusty sigh above the door and a few overgrown palm trees arranged in the courtyard."I HATE hospitals" she spoke quietly to this was no time to be picky, this was the best place she had come across so far in this town and it didn't have any demolition notice posted so she sighed and walked on in. the doors at the entrance creaked as she forced them open and dust sifted through the shafts of light that were cast through the windows that had been badly boarded up.

"HELLO!" she called, the only reply she got was her own echo and the sound of a few scurrying made her way in further and when she was sure that she was the only person present she set upon learning the hospitals basic layout

[It's not a good sign when you start getting lost in your own home :D]

After a few minutes breaking down doors and looking for anything of use to her she found a closet filled with around a dozen mattress and blankets, "perfect" she said and with that she dragged them to a room she had noted earlier to have a view over the entrance and laid one down in a corner for a bed dumping sheets on top, the other mattress she piled up to be used as punch and practice pads sighed as she sat down on the bed she had made and stared up at the broken window, the glass was brown with dirt and weeds were wrapping themselves around the broken drain pipe on the wall had been a long day already and it had only just passed mid-day, but one thing was repeating in her mind, it seemed insignificant at first so she shrugged it off but try as she might it wouldn't leave her, that boy, Kai. She frowned. _"So what about him? Oh, this must be me asking myself for a reason to let him talk to me the way he did. Right?_

She raised an eyebrow.

_"dose that make any sense at all?Who cares, I think it was probably because ... because I feel sorry for him having a friend in such a state and not being able to do anything about it. It's a terrible feeling, and not only that but his whole team will now have to forfeit the next match without a substitute member. Wait!"_

she frowned and then laughed at the thought of her being on a team"I couldn't even if I wanted too and I don't so this goes no further" she said aloud but not sounding clapped her hands together as if to wake her from a daydream and decided to take a jog to the public library a few blocks away, it never hurts to train mentally as well as physically.

On her way to the library she thought of the whole reason she was training to defend herself to fight anyone who got in her way, it was to protect the ones close to that it mattered much now, not now they were all dead_..."because of them"_ she frowned and swore under her breath no this time it isn't to protect them she thought, this is to avenge them.


	3. Chapter 3

Red had nearly finished in the library when they made the announcement that closing time would be in fifteen minutes. she finished browsing the article on martial arts from the southern parts of Korea and made her way to the doors. It was late and she'd decided that she would stop off and see Tony, a bum she'd met down by the marina. Making her way to the front desk she could have sworn two of the guys getting bags from the locker area looked strikingly familiar but she let it pass wondering if she was being paranoid.

Turning into the cold night air that lashed down the street she pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders and let out a deep sigh that misted in front of her face. she walked on.

the sun was sinking fast and an orange haze was sitting on the horizon. being so lost in thought it was a few minutes before red noticed them. They seemed to have accumulated in numbers since being in the library though. Red risked a quick glance back as she quickened her pace; it was safer to avoid confrontation when outnumbered like this, there looked to be about 5 or 6 of them, hands in pockets, heads down, not meeting each other's eyes yet still laughing and joking callously. They knew what they were about to do and from the looks of things they weren't too sure of how go about it.

Seeing her chance, Red quickly side stepped into an ally that belonged to one of the high streets daytime cafes. The other end was blocked off with a chain link fence but if she kept quiet and wasn't seen, they would lose her and she'd soon be on her way. All she had to do was wait.

Kai opened the door to find Rei looking at him wearily, "hey Kai," Kai's swiftly made to slam the door but before he had a chance it seemed Rei had taken the initiative and inserted a foot in the gap, "I didn't think you'd make this easy for me Kai" he sighed and nudged his way past into kais fourth story apartment. It was a reasonable size and virtually empty except for a table next to a small but expensive looking couch.

as soon as Kai closed the door Rei rounded on him, his face slightly panicked "I'm gonna get straight to the point Kai, we need you back; loosing Daichi hit all of us hard but none more than Tyson and now loosing you... you were like brothers, so the least you can do is come on back for his sake"

Kai moved over to the large bay window overlooking the streets below, is was a typical autumn scene as the light faded Kai studied the people below who went about their daily business, "monotonous isn't it?" he breathed.

"what?... What is?"

"Day to day life Rei, I'm bored with this; being the leader, being a fighter, being a breaker; it's old."

Rei shifted uncomfortably, this wasn't what he was expecting but he wasn't going to let this stop him, Kai was coming back if he wanted to or not.

"Kai, you're the captain of one of the top martial arts teams in the world, how on earth could that be boring? You travel the world studying an art that you love"

Kais attention was elsewhere. There was a group of guys gathering around a large rucksack withdrawing pieces of wood and baseball bats in the ally below.

"I don't mean to sound pompous Rei and I know this will regardless… but, it's you guys…" Rei was stunned and hurt. kais tone softened as he attempted to make his words vaguely resemble an apology "I've fought you all a million times now, and in my mind we ARE the best team in the world, whether were a man down or not. Now tell me what I'm meant to find interesting now?

Rei was perplexed, yet sympathetic towards what Kai was struggling with. On the one hand he was a champion, known the world over. On the other hand he was a normal [if slightly depressive and anti social] young man who wanted nothing more than to make himself the best he could be.

Facing the same opponents day after day and getting no better would seem monotonous to anyone.

"Then don't fight us Kai," Kai raised his eyes from the strange scene unfolding below him and stared Rei full in the face. He could sense that this wasn't a joke, so what did he mean?

"We need a new member Kai, Daichi needs replacing. You're the one who needs to do it, so replace as many of us as you want, and make them as INTERESTING as you want"

Kai was slightly taken aback by this proposition but his face didn't show it. He knew Rei wasn't mad and that he was just challenging him to face the situation he was in.

Lowering his gaze to the street once again his eyes found one of the strange men from earlier practicing his swing with a baseball bat, he was pretty tall and none too hansom but kai instinctively knew in a one on one fight that he didn't stand a chance against any member of the breakers. Replacing any one of them would be a challenge.

"ok then, I'll admit that id be foolish to think I could just walk out into the street and pick just anyone to become a breaker; however…" Kai looked down at the street one more time as the men started to leave, it was dark now but the streetlights meant he could see where they were headed; another ally a few yards up the street. "I never said I wasn't up for the challenge"

Rei met kais mellow eyes and smiled "have it your way captain"

with that Kai moved swiftly from the window and swung open the door, "I'll be right back"

"Wait, what? You can't just leave Kai; were half way through a conversation!...Kai?"

Rei lunged for the door before it slammed shut, and ran to catch up with Kai who was descending the stairs three steps at a time. "What's going on Kai, What's the rush?"

"I think there's an assault about to take place just up the street, we need to hurry or were gonna miss all the fun." This surprised Rei. "I never had you down as the heroic type Kai"

"who said anything about heroics? I just wanna kick some scumbag ass, you know that!"

Rei chuckled slightly, "yeah, I guess you just can't help but get yourself into trouble hu?"

Ever noticed how bad those side alleys smell? Red had to find out the hard way.

She didn't have a watch so she didn't know how long it had been since she'd turned off the high street and taken to crouching behind a huge dumpster but her heart had settled down, she wasn't panicking anymore, she could think straight.

Taking a deep breath and pushing herself up against the wall she rose to face the entrance of the alley. It was dark where she stood, but only a few feet away from the mouth of the narrow passage the streetlights where shining there warm golden glow down on the sidewalk and over the bonnets of a few parked cars.

Sighing for a moment at how paranoid she must be to have thought she was being followed, she straightened up and attempted to brush of any dirt she may have got on her clothes. she took one step towards the warm glow of the street before her breath caught in her throat.

At first there was just the one, he paused briefly at the entrance to let his eyes adjust to the dark and when they fell on red he moved forwards confidently cracking his knuckles as he did. Others were at his side soon enough, in total there were four of them. All Red could do was take a deep breath and force herself to address them as politely as she could.

"Can I help you guys?" she breathed.

The one who replied was the shortest of the bunch, from what she could see he wore a puffy baseball jacket with the sleeves rolled up and baggy designer pants; just from looking at him you could tell he'd never done something like this before

"I bet you could babe!" he sneered. The others laughed along with him except the guy who had entered the alley first, his eyes didn't leave Red. Finally when the laughing died down he addressed her in a broad English accent. "We are here on business at the request of a mister Kyle Gadbuy, I trust that you are aware of your position in this?"

"Would he by chance be the piece of pond life I sent swimming last Tuesday?" the man smirked in the dim light, "that would be correct miss"

This all made slightly more sense now. It was all an ego thing, trying to repair the damage that she had inflicted the other week.

"Well then, that being so I'm guessing my position as you put it, will be lying on the floor in a pool of my own blood." She lifted her hands up in the air as a gesture of surrender and the guys behind the Englishman drew from there large coats their own weapons, one of them had a rather nasty looking piece of wood and the others both had baseball bats.

This didn't look good, Red was going to have to be extra clever to get out of this one. Things weren't looking any better when the Englishman drew a revolver from his chest pocket, in fact she'd go so far as to say that this could be bad.

Thinking fast and trying to buy time she addressed the other thugs, "haven't I seen you guys somewhere before?" they paused slightly; suspicious of her apparent calm. "we where with Kyle at the fountain" said one of them. "That's why we're here now, Kyle can pay for his revenge, and we have to get it ourselves."

"oh I see, I have to admit that I thought you were quite a strange combination along with English here." she laughed as she slowly made her way closer to the gun being pointed at her chest.

She knew that he wouldn't shoot her just yet, they'd want their chance to beat the crap out of her first. Not wanting them to realise what she was up to she couldn't once look at the gun, but as soon as she was ready she looked English strait in the eyes and he instantly understood his mistake.

Faster that the time it took him to blink, Red had grabbed his wrist with one hand and yanked it to the side to dislodge his grip, with this accomplished she snatched the gun and turned it to face him with an unreadable expression on her face.

Part of her was scared of slipping up and killing someone, the other was having the time of her life!

"Out of my way! Your not to follow me or ever bother me again you hear?" at first English didn't move, he was still in shock but eventually he let out a deep breath and stepped aside with his hands in the air. "Good, now you do the same!" she barked at the thugs. They were less happy about surrendering but began doing so after taking a few seconds to consider the gun.

This was going perfectly! What could possibly go wrong now…?

"HEY WHAT THE HELL, KAI SHE'S GOT A GUN!"

Red spun round on the spot thinking more thugs had arrived but realising too late that she'd taken her eye off the ball. CRACK! A metal baseball bat smashed into the side of her head causing the ally to go un-naturally dark.

When she opened her eyes again what seemed like a few seconds later she found herself on the floor of a grubby little alley surrounded by scuffling feet and violent cries of pain. The only thing that really registered with red though, was a warm trickling sensation on her temple. Blood? Why was she bleeding? Had someone hit her? They must have done! The bastards were gonna pay for this, currency teeth.

Red stumbled to her feet and steadied herself with a wall. As everything came back into focus the nights events came back to her, but even so, her rage didn't leave.

Grabbing the first thug she could reach she spun him round to face her and as his eyes widened in surprise she took her shot, a sharp kick to the groin caused the guy to cripple forwards in agony, still seething about her injury; red wasn't finished, she brought a knifehand down hard across the back of his neck and taking advantage of his position she then proceeded to knee him full in the face.

He felt to the floor like a ton of bricks but Red was only satisfied when she heard him moan slightly and spit out a few bloody teeth. "Lesson learned?" she spat.


	4. Chapter 4

Kai turned into the ally with Rei close on his heels. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the dim light but as they did he was alarmed by what greeted his gaze.

The jogging girl- Red, and around four rather sorry looking thugs. Red looked to have the situation under control and was starting to back away in order to make her escape but Rei's exclamation of surprise threw her of balance. She spun around to see who was making all the commotion assuming that someone would take her from behind.

her hands loosened on the gun when her eyes met kais and he vaguely registered a look of relief cross her face before the resounding thud of a metal bat hit her around the back of the head and she collapsed an a heap.

Rei had no idea who was in the wrong here, the girl with the gun or the group with bats? however, after kai's infuriated cry of "Red!" and sprinting to assist the girl sprawled on the ground - he had a pretty good idea of who to lay into.

Kai skidded to a halt in front of Red, she was face down but he could see blood beginning to spill in the dirt. this wasn't good. kneeling down and lifting her shoulder to turn her over his hand was kicked away by one of the goons. "what's the matter son? I have to say - your friend her had us worried for a minute but i must thank your girlfriend over their for distracting her!" his words were met with jeers of spiteful laughter only cut short by a sharp intake of air and familiar thudding sound... that was, Reis foot colliding with several un prepared sets of solarplexs

Kai had to admire Reis speed when it came to close combat, he seemed to weave his way through his opponents as they fell in what appeared to be slow motion. like poetry, only with more blood and broken bones.

"FOR THE LAST FREAKIN' TIME, I'M A BOY!" Kai could see that the sooner these goons were out the way the faster red could be seen to. seeing the gun still lying next to Reds open hand he kicked it under the huge dumpster and rose to his feet to joined the fray. his heart was pounding faster as he sought out openings on his prey, easily dodging their pathetically slow and miscalculated attacks, he was having the time of his life in what seemed like an impossible dance with death. Kai delivered a finishing blow to his stocky opponent who crumpled into a moaning heap, this done Kai checked Rei's match; it was two on one but Rei had the advantage, he would use his opponents against each other- this was a game! one guy would swing his bat and the other would lung after Rei consequently being smacked in the face with his friends bat. oh the joys of personal experience.

in his peripheral vision Kai could see red staggering to her feet and lashing out with surprising ferocity at one of the three thugs as he attempted an escape from the scuffle. within seconds he was on the floor and unlikely to move for a good few minutes.

that takes care of three thugs, the fourth [much to kais disappointment] had inexplicably vanished. Kai turned to Rei to question the disappearance when there was a crash of trash cans, Red was half collapsed against the wall, clutching the side of her head.

"jeez, am i gonna need some aspirin!"

Rei gave Kai a questioning look "are you okay?...miss...?

"her name is Red" Kai offered

"so you two know each other?"

Red moved her hand so as better to see their faces, "not as such, no"

Rei looked at Kai incredulously "and you decided to help a complete stranger...? and in doing so endangering _both _our lives?

Kai was silent for a moment, his eyes not moving from red. the only sound was the three of them panting. he reached out a hand toward Reds temple but she slapped it away instinctively. he didn't look surprised or offended, he just sighed and said in a flat tone "I need to make sure you don't need stitches or anything... it could get infected else."

"sorry, I just get jumpy when this stuff happens"

Rei's eyes narrowed "how often does this happen for you, seriously?"

there was a silence broken only by the moans of the defeated thugs.

"you were knocked out remember, that often means a concussion" Rei prompted

"Red" Kai interjected "I need to see your head" she gave an unconvincing laugh and said "it's nothing really, just a bump" she moved her hand that shook with adrenalin and Kai moved in closer.

she winced when he applied pressure to her brow line "your lucky you skull wasn't fractured you know, but you may still have concussion"

"we should take her to a hospital Kai, just to make sure" Kai nodded

"wait, don't I get any say in this? I say I'm fine, I'm not gonna waist my time in a building full of sick people"

her expression was a mix of disgust and fear, Kai sensed that this would be a hard idea to get across "lets get ourselves back to my place" Kai decided "we can debate the correct course of action after i can see your injuries in better light"

Rei nodded. "fine" red sighed "but the final decision is mine!"

with that Red pusher herself off the wall but staggered to stay upright. Rei was fast and grabbed her shoulders in an attempt to steady her. "no!" she yelled suddenly"...sorry, I didn't mean to be rude... I just want to do this myself" her sudden inability to balance frustrated her immensely, she would over come this, but having Rei's help would be cheating.

finally with one hand on the wall and the other on her temple she made it back to the mouth of the ally. the street was relatively empty save the odd car driving by and random nobodies going about their business.

Kai firmly took her wrist and he walked briskly up the street dragging a rather bloody looking red behind him. Red was doing her best to put one foot in front of the other while Rei kept his hand on the small of her back to keep her from performing a rather brilliant faceplant. needless to say they got some strange looks from passers by.

It might sound strange but Red felt comfortable in the presence of these two strangers, it was a mystery as to why Kai and Rei had appeared out of nowhere in her time of need but had it been anyone else dragging her up the street she would have had to interject most violently. The fact that she knew them to be world class martial artists could have had something to do with it also but she wasn't going to argue with fate.


	5. Chapter 5

Thankfully kais apartment was a short distance away and Red's balance had recovered enough to tackle the stairs without too much trouble. Kai opened the door and Rei helped Red to the couch, she squinted in the bright light of the apartment and suddenly she was dizzy again. She took deep breaths while sitting with her hands balled on her knees and frowning at the wooden floor. Rei drew the curtains and Kai kneeled beside her "are you sure your okay? You look quite pale" she nodded slowly and raised her head so Kai could see her injury better; "we'll need to clean this up - could you fetch me some tissue and water from the kitchen Rei?"

Rei chuckled to himself as he went to retrieve the required items.

"what now?" Kai sighed

"since when did you become such a caring person Kai? You don't act this way toward us"

"would you prefer me to a trained nurse next time max kicks you into next month? Cuz it can be arranged"

Rei had a sudden image of Kai in a doctors coat getting out a surgical chainsaw, the idea wasn't all that appealing.

"I don't know what you mean Kai" he laughed "you'd look great in a nurses uniform"

Kai sat kneeling next to red with his hand holding her hair back out of her face, she simply stared at the floor. For the first time he could see her close up and he began to take in the details of her appearance. Her hair was in a long blond ponytail and she had a fringe that was tinged red with blood. Her brow was furrowed in discomfort. The bloody bruise was swollen rather badly in contrast with the other side where he noticed two more small scars. Her clothes were dirty from lying on the ground and her jeans were ripped at the knee.

"your gonna need a shower and a change of clothes too"

Red just shrugged "I'll take a shower when I get home, don't worry - clothes are replaceable"

Rei had come back with paper towels and a bowl of water "what about your parents, wont they worry if they see you like this? I could phone them if you like"

Red was prepared for this question, "oh, no they've gone away for a few days to uncle bob, he's ill see?"

Rei frowned "but you've been attacked, surely they'd want to know what happened?"

Red wasn't ready for this "I'll call them later, my head hurts too much now"

Kai was rolling up the tissue dipping it in the water then mopping the blood from the gash "so why did they come after you? It seemed to me like it was a pretty well thought threw attack"

"I embarrassed a friend of theirs, that's all" that was all she wanted to say, it was ambiguous enough for them not to ask any more questions… she thought.

"that's all? Dude they could have killed you!" Rei was outraged

"look its no big deal, I had it coming anyways"

"That's hardly justifiable!"

"look, I had everything under control until you turned up!"

"oh so this is all my fault now?"

Kai surprised them both "this is none of our fault, only theirs and I'm pretty sure they wont be doing it again - can we leave it at that?"

Silence

"I'm sorry Rei, your right I shouldn't get myself into these things, I didn't mean to be rude" she whispered

Rei shook his head, she seemed so defeated all of a sudden "no it's fine, I just can stand to see people with so little self value and respect, you must know that you are a brilliant person Red" his brown eyes bore into her "I hardly know you but I can already tell how strong you are, your really quite something"

She nodded slightly but her eyes wouldn't meet his gaze, no matter how she looked at it she had still lost this fight, she had been knocked out for god sake!

Kai handed her a towel so she could dry her face

"thanks, well I'd better be off home now"

"is that really a good idea, to be home alone with a possible concussion?"

"I'll be fine, I'm not even dizzy anymore" she lied

Rei stood up "I can walk you home, make sure you get there safe"

Now this could be a problem, Red could hardly go home to the abandoned hospital she had decided to stay in, and he would want to make sure she went inside so just picking a random house and breaking in wouldn't be an option. She considered just getting half way down the street and running for it but Rei would probably be just as fast, if not faster than her.

"I wouldn't feel right just sending you home without seeing someone, at least if you stay here we can keep an eye on you" Kai offered

"so my options are see a doctor, then go home _or _stay here then go home?"

Kai nodded. Rei tilted his head as he thought about it "you did say your parents' are away, you could phone them if you want and tell them your staying at a friends house or something"

"I guess staying couldn't do any harm" she sighed

Rei plonked himself down on the couch next to red "well I'm glad that's settled! Kai you got anything to eat? I'm starved"

Kai threw his phone at Rei "just order a pizza or something, I'm gonna sort red a change of clothes" he got up and left the room

"what's your favourite topping?" he asked red. This baffled her, not having a home meant she didn't have money to buy things like food, if she wanted to eat she would steal or go through the stuff that got thrown out by the restraunts. she'd seen people eat pizza and she knew that you had different things on top sometimes but having never eaten a pizza she didn't know what she liked.

"um…" her puzzled expression made Rei chuckle. "you eat pizza right?"

"not before no"

"you serious? How have you survived without pizza!" he joked

"just order what you usually get"

"will you try some?"

"so long as its not arsenic flavour, that was the worst sandwich ever "

Rei laughed and agreed

Red went for a shower and did a little yelp when she noticed it was warm water, washing in the abandoned hospital meant only cold showers, but it was better than some ways of going about it, Rivers and rain water were a real drag. The water made her wound sting and the heat made her head spin but she managed to wash without passing out or anything, which was a huge plus.

When she dried off she found that Kai had left her a t-shirt and some shorts, she quickly changed into them, she noticed how they smelt of him- pleasantly familiar.

She wasn't so sure about wearing shorts, her legs were rather battle worn, plenty of scrapes and scars, sure to raise an eyebrow or two but she couldn't exactly wear anything else, so shorts it was.

The door was ajar when she paused outside the living room, Rei was rambling on about his fight with the two thugs to a hardly listening Kai, she really had to thank them for their hospitality, she reached for the door handle when she heard her name mentioned

"what kind of name is Red anyways? Not that it doesn't suit or anything …it just seems strange that she never uses her proper name right?"

There was a pause where Rei looked expectantly in kais direction

"maybe she doesn't like her given name?" he suggested unenthusiastically

"maybe… maybe its code for something!" Rei jested

Kai let out a sigh "can you not tell when someone doesn't want you to know their business Rei? Just leave her be, its clear she's practiced at lying to people"

[ouch!] what the hell? Red had thought she was pretty convincing - she'd even kept parts of the truth to make her story more believable.

"a girl her age wouldn't be allowed to stay home on her own, she'd at least have a neighbour check on her so why would she pass up the chance to save them worrying, also a girl her age would go crying to her mummy and daddy the moment anyone tried starting on them."

"she cant be _much _younger than you or me Kai"

Kai ignored him and continued pressing his point "the only reason we are able to live independently is because we are apart from our families for long periods of time, I think she lives independently too. Come to think of it she only agreed to stay when you offered to take her home, when she'd been so set on it before, that's probably because she doesn't want you to know where she's staying… it wont be a proper home that's for sure"

Red was hurt, she suddenly became aware of the difference in their interpretations of a home, to her walls and a roof were optional but to them… it was so much more, it was safety and something to be proud of. That was the hardest thing to swallow, she could never be safe and she would never be proud of anything she did. Once she left this apartment she'd go back to those hopelessly empty feelings.

Kai continued his analysis of her petty lies

She probably lives a little too independently, her clothes were old and worn at the seams, you can tell she hand washes them cuz detergent drains the colour from stitching and hers still had some despite being old. She cuts her hair herself, that's why its long at the back but the fringe is long and shaped to her face where she puts it behind her ear."

"wow slow down Sherlock" Rei was as confounded as Red, how did he know to look for these things? When did he notice?

"look Rei, If she doesn't want to share her real name its probably because she doesn't want to be found. That entirely up to her. Doesn't make me think any less of her, infact I think she's a lot smarter than we give her credit for.

"Kai we cant let her walk out of here to potentially go back to a life on the street, anything could happen to her" Rei's voice was filled with genuine concern and it made Red want to run in and tell him it was okay and he shouldn't worry about it but she took a deep breath and backed away from the door to the other end of the hallway, she could still hear them talking

"I'm not gonna force her to change the way she lives" Kai muttered "for all we know she might be happy as she is, but we can still give her a chance."

Red chose this moment to open and close the bathroom door and force a relived sigh, [nothing like a bit of subtlety] she nonchalantly walked into the living room still towel drying her hair. "that's much better, thanks for the clothes by the way Kai"

He nodded, eyes surveying her from head to toe, lingering a little longer than she'd have liked on her battle scared legs.

Rei smiled and shot an expectant look at Kai who simply continued gazing at Red

It was like being x-rayed, she couldn't be sure he wasn't taking note of how dry he hair was when she had supposedly "just" got out the shower or what?

The buzzer on the door went and Red jumped "what was that?" she exclaimed

"just the pizza I'll get it!" Rei chimed

Red sat down on the floor facing Kai who was sat across the table on the couch

"how's the head?" he asked

"Uh, I got a little dizzy in the shower but I'm better now" red attempted a normal looking smile

"you realise you're concussed right?"

"yup" she laughed and Kais mouth twitched into a brief grin.

"I get the impression that you're the type to get into a lot of scrapes hu?"

"I guess you could say that"

Rei returned carrying two large pizza boxes

"Kai I forgot to mention, Red hasn't tried pizza before!"

"I'd bet there are a number of things that she hasn't tried"

Red raised an eyebrow "what are you insinuating here?"

"toppings! he means toppings" Rei opened the two boxes, to reveal one plain pizza and the other with weird looking red and green things on it plus little circles of what Red took to be meat.

"wow" that's all red could manage, she was intoxicated by the smell, it made her stomach clench and she realised exactly how hungry she was.

"Awww, Kai she's like a little kid!" Rei cooed.

Kai picked up a slice and handed it to Red and she looked at it and then at how Rei was eating his. She tried copying his way of holding it and ended up with ketchup on her nose which made Rei laugh unexpectedly and choke a little.

"mmm… this is good!" it had been a long time since she'd eaten anything while it was still warm too.

"So, red-" Rei started, "you go to school round here?"

Red stopped mid chew trying to disguise her panicked look "er, no I'm new to the area, moved in about a month ago now so I'll be starting In the new term"

"ah, cool" Rei grinned "so you wont have anything to do till then right?"

"not sure, I go to the library a lot to make sure I'm not falling behind or anything"

"good, well I was thinking, if its alright with your parents, that we could come over and hang out sometime?" Kai nudged Rei with his leg and gave him a disapproving look that Rei simply ignored.

"come to think of it we don't know where that is exactly, where _do _you live red?"

she could feel his insinuation twisting in her guts like a knife. She swallowed her mouth full of pizza before answering in a low voice "what's with the tone Rei? Of course I know where I live…right round the corner from- "

Without warning, her stomach clenched and she had the urge to hurl, she ran from the room to be sick. As she left the room she heard Kai's gruff voice of disapproval "_what the hell Rei_! Were not gonna force her to tell us, there's obviously a reason she wont say what's going on, just back off!"

Reaching the toilet bowl red let rip, it seemed like she was in there for an hour but when she'd recovered slightly and checked the clock it had only been about 10 minutes she sat there a while on the floor, her head was spinning again, her throat was sore and her stomach still cramped but her mind was on something Kai had said; _"there's obviously a reason she wont say…"_

What was it?

What was stopping her from telling them that she was a homeless kid that stole food and clothes to survive, people would spit on her when she slept in doorways and laugh at her for wearing odd clothes.

what was stopping her from telling them that she could just about read and write cuz she left school at 12,who's parents were murdered, who was betrayed by almost everyone she was close to because she was always being tracked by the ones who had her parents killed?

The reason?

Shame.

She was ashamed of how she lived, crawling along the ground like the scum of the earth, hiding, lying, being hunted like an animal.

The people who had her mum and dad killed forced her to this, such a pathetic way of life.

This was their doing and soon she'd make it their undoing.

There was a knock at the door that made her jump.

She didn't answer at once, Rei's voice sounded from the other side of the door "you alive in there?…"

She wanted to tell him to go away but the words caught in her sore throat, she just sat there staring at the opposite wall in silence.

The door opened and it was Kai to poke his head through the gap "you okay?"

Red nodded. Her expression was so strong yet she seemed so vulnerable. Her tiny arms protruding from his shirt that was clearly too big and her spindly legs plastered with cuts, it was as if for the first time he was seeing her as a little girl - a girl who was scared and alone.

Rei pressed his way into the room, "Red, I'm so sorry I shouldn't be prying where its not my place, especially when your not feeling great"

She held her hand up to stop him

"its fine Rei, I think it was the pizza not you"

Rei frowned "the pizza? we didn't try yours, maybe its bad or something" he moved over to where she was sat and placed a hand on her forehead "you have a bit of a fever"

She frowned "I've spent the last ten minutes spewing my guts up, I'm gonna be a bit hot!"

"I guess" he sighed "look if your not feeling so good maybe you should get an early night?"

Red nodded and got up on her feet still clutching her stomach.

"gosh, even your legs are shaking" Rei laughed. Unfortunately one side effect of malnutrition was that she was so skinny, this also meant getting the shakes when your ill was inevitable.

"yeah, sorry." she breathed

"sorry?" Rei frowned, he looked to Kai but he just shook his head signalling to let it go

Rei said he would be back early tomorrow but for now he must take his leave, he apologised once more and said goodnight. Kai had insisted Red use his bed and he would use the sofa, she felt guilty but he insisted that the couch was more comfortable anyways.

She hadn't know such luxury before, the sheets and pillows were so soft, they even smelt nice. The bed itself was huge and Red felt rather lost as to what you would need so much room for, it only reminded her how small she was, how alone she felt and how weak.

For a moment she imagined Kai sleeping in such a big bed, his frame wouldn't seem so out of place, maybe he liked the emptiness of it, always surrounded by people it seemed a logical escape, he was strong too, she had seen him fight and in her opinion he was a lot more skilled than Tyson who simply relied on his ego. Red felt safe in knowing Kai was only down the hall.

There were huge French windows allowing moonbeams through the smooth net curtains. It was almost full moon.

Being so tired Red hoped that sleep would come quickly, hopefully tonight would be dreamless for once.


	6. Chapter 6

Kai sunk into his expensive couch and pulled a spare duvet over himself, after about an hour and a half of not being able to sleep he decided to make a trip to the bathroom. When making his way back however, he decided to check on Red.

He gently knocked as he opened the door "red?" he whispered

No reply.

He turned to leave when there was a was a low groan from under the sheets, "Red, Are you awake?" he silently made towards the bed; if she was still ill then he'd have to get her to see someone.

The moonlight from the large bay windows fell over the room illuminating Reds fragile figure. Kai bent down to see her face better. "Red?" he repeated

Still nothing.

Her face was contorted into a frown and her brow shining with sweat, she was clearly having a nightmare, her fists were clenched and her legs, arms or head would occasionally twitch from side to side.

He didn't want to see her like this - he reached across to place a hand on her shoulder but paused as she whimpered , it was incoherent at first - a name "m- mo…ther…"

She was having a nightmare involving her mother?

He waited a few moments more, kneeling beside the bed; waiting for any other words that he could use to interpret such a terrible dream.

"d.. don't go… don't… I cant… …be alone… mum?…dad?…I…"

Something struck a chord with Kai, was Red suppressing a fear of abandonment? Something he himself had numbed himself to long ago. If her parents had left her or they had been forced apart then it could have a detrimental effect to Red's social development - she would find trust hard to build, doubt and fear of loosing those close to her would eat away at her every day.

How did he know?

The same way he knew she had been lying earlier.

The same way he knew what to look for in her face.

He'd been there.

He shook his head as if to dislodge the thoughts and lay his hand gently on Red's shoulder, she didn't stir from her sleep and so he took to shaking her; she frowned again "Red, I need you to wake up-" before he could finish his sentence - Red's eyes opened with a start, with one hand she grabbed kais outstretched arm, instinctively twisting it into a gooseneck lock she took an alarmed breath.

Kai did nothing. But look her straight in the eye. He could pin point them moment she remembered where she was and who was "attacking" her.

Only Kai wasn't attacking her, she was safe. No one was going to hurt her here.

Her grip loosened on kais wrist and he pulled away.

"you okay?" he asked.

Her breathing was still ragged and eyes were glued to his.

She was trying to read his face, Was I talking aloud again? did he hear? -I shouldn't have stayed - how could I have been so stupid? I let this happen!

"I came to make sure you were okay, not still ill from earlier"

Red made no reply , she was getting worked up in her head and hardly noticing his words.

He sat on the bed next to her and sighed a deep sigh.

This seemed to wake her from her daze and she quickly made to compose herself "sorry" she blurted in a panicked voice "I didn't mean to…, I'll go back to bed…" before she had a chance, he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her over to sit next to him.

"bad dream?"

"erm…" she looked away , I must have been blabbing in my sleep again, she cursed inwardly and let out a deep sighed.

"there's no hiding anything from you is there?"

"nope" he smiled

"wanna talk about it?" he offered

Her eyes widened at the thought, no one had shown an honest interest before - they were either working for the "bad guys" or didn't want to know. She shook her head vigorously "its more trouble than I'm worth" she smiled. It was a smile that Kai noticed didn't reach her eyes.

"you sure?" he probed nudging her with his shoulder. Red looked up at him and searched his soft brown eyes, he seriously wanted to help hu?

"I deal in trouble myself ya' know, I've got myself quite an enterprise going" he mused

Another brief grin flashed across her face.

"I'm sorry Kai, you're a good guy and I trust you completely but the last thing I want is for you to get dragged down with my mess, I'm sorting it out though so you shouldn't worry about me, I can handle it."

He didn't look entirely convinced, "you're ready to face tomorrow… and the day after… and the week after…month, year, decade?"

Red couldn't see entirely where this train of thought was going but she nodded. "I'll face whatever the day brings"

Kai raised a hand to reds cheek and she flinched for a split second before leaning into his rough palm, he looked Red dead in the eyes "what about the night? What about facing the past?"


End file.
